Lake Sagaris

Santiago, Chile

Hey to all. I didn't work long at Dumont Press Graphix but it made a big impression in many ways. And there was lots of continuity through CUP and the Vallican Valley, although I got there much less after I moved to Edmonton. In 1979 I began a long relationship with Chile, moving here in 1981, "until Pinochet kicked me out". Somehow I stuck, working as a freelance correspondent for CBC, NPR, Pacifica and writing tons for the Globa & Mail and Times of London, among other media. Wrote a few books of poetry and non-fiction, one about Chile undre the military shortlisted for the Governor General's Award, which was nice. Switched to translating in 2000, then learned a lot about cities, fighting a highway project set to destroy several neighbourhoods on the wrong side of the Mapocho River in central Santiago. Ended up with an MSc and PhD in urban-regional planning and community development now do participatory action research -- for transformations to just sustainabilities, in communities in Santiago and Temuco-Padre Las Casas-Lautaro.